re:blogs in the classroom

As I consider the possibilities of using a blog as an educational tool, I realize I should probably first address the many uncertainties I still have. First, I have had very little experience using a blog or even similar internet tools, such as message boards or chatrooms or whatever else is available. I will therefore need to spend some time understanding what is special about this particular tool, what capabilities it allows and which ones it limits, before I could even begin to evaluate its utility in education.
I understand the ability to have a shared space were students can share thoughts and ideas does have a special promise. As some of the articles on the topic have noted students will feel more likely to express themselves on a blog than they will in a classroom. While I want to encourage as many ways for students to communicate with eachother and the teacher I worry that the blog may replace normal classroom conversation to some degreee, and effect the classrrom atmosphere I desire. While I would hope the class blog would be a venue to extend the mutually supportive and enjoyable classroom climate, I fear it could also become an arena of anonymous abuse. I enjoy the idea of creating projects for the entire class to cooperate upon using the blog. Perhaps students could create a large paper where individuals students would be responsible for creating sections of the work, and also with coordinating with eachother to create a web based presentation.
On a different level I believe using tools like blogs will become as important as poster or presentation projects. Schools and teachers have long accepted that the safety of a classroom enviroment would be a good starting point to help teach students skills such as public speaking or display design. We agree to this idea because we realize that the professional world will likely expect them to communicate information in this manner. With the increasing use of information technology in corporate America I do believe that this type of web based presentation skills will be just as desirable at some point. I therefore believe a proactive teacher and educational system will construct support structure to develope and harness these skills from an early stage.
For the time being I like the idea of occasionally incorporating a blog into classroom projects on an experimental basis. After all it is only through exposure that we can truly gain a proper understanding of such things. In my classroom I feel it will be a while before I start using such tools, not due to reservation just my own need to build up my skills and understanding so that I can most effectively guide my students learning.